Social change and stress in Estonia

The article attempts to assess social stress in Estonia at this time of transformation. The hypothesized model of social stress is based on the stress and coping model of Lazarus & Folkman and Borden and is applied as a frame of reference to the investigation. One thousand adult respondents from the Household Budget Survey were involved in the survey in March and April 1993. The factor analysis revealed 4 factors that determined coping with stress: frustration, passivity, happiness and future orientation. Cluster analysis of the respondents confirmed that 41% of the men's and 30% of the women's samples represented groups of risk of higher levels of distress. The findings provide support for the hypothesized model of social stress and indicate that multiple social change is the central source of stress for people living in Estonia.